When we think of the term ‘slow food’, it reminds us of something which is probably slow to digest! Or maybe it takes a long time to cook and eat. It is not necessary to cook some complicated and difficult dishes. But a simple food, cooked with fresh ingredients yet good to eat is ‘Slow Food’. It is the opposite of ‘fast food’. Slow Food is basically an idea. It is a way of eating healthy food and staying fit. It is a worldwide, grassroots faction that started as an international organization set up in the year 1989 by a far-sighted and prudent person, Carlo Petrini . Basically slow food binds the pleasure of having a good food with a commitment to our community and also our environment.
At present Slow Food have more than 100,000 members in 150 countries . Eight national offices are established in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Japan. Apart from the active members, its supporters are spread worldwide. Almost 2,000 food societies in the Terra Madre group and more than 10,000 small-scale manufacturers got involved in this Presidia projects. In other countries, different national associations are set up with adequate number of members to sustain the self-governing organization with nationwide headquarters. Though in some countries Slow Food has not yet well-known, but national associations comprise of national branches hat are run by national supervisory committees and other members. They coordinate different Slow Food events and projects to popularize slow food in these countries. They bring the local products, local producers and the consumers closer together to lessen mediators in the food marketplace. This reduces natural costs of shipping, storage space and packaging.
The modern day food habit is creating massive changes in the climatic conditions. Hence, it is unquestionably necessary to follow possible changes and pathways to manage the continuously degrading climate situation. Through taking up environmental-friendly methods along different steps of the food delivery chain, following a “seed to landfill” course, the problem may be curbed at least to a certain percentage.
Though most of the people consider that “slow food” was founded to be against fast food, but in reality the motives of the organization are much different and take into account the bigger interest of the entire world. Although the members are opposed to fast food ethically, still they intend is to resist the present day fast life that is brought through speedy industrialization. Current day fast life has resulted in the vanishing of several of exclusive local gastronomic way of life and different types of food to stay healthy and fit, because industrialized foods are easy to pack in cans or bags and sell them globally . Thus Slow Food targets to neutralize fast life, initiating in our dining table to different other fields in this chain.
Under slow food form, agricultural manufacture has understood the characteristics of the industrialized sector that is taking a new shape. It can be referred to as agro-industry or agri-business. Two important hallmarks of the system, i.e., increased use of fertilizers and pesticides and production of only a few limited plant varieties known as “monocultures”. These two situations have had bad effects on the atmosphere and endanger the financial well-being of small-scale farmers.
Works Cited
Growing Produce. Slow Food Vs. Fast Food. 23 August 2011. 14 February 2013
Slow Food. "About Us." 2013. Slowfood. 14 February 2013
Walter, Lynn. "Slow food and home cooking: Twoard a relational aesthetic of food and relational ethic of home." Provisions: The journal of the center for food in community and culture 1 (2009).
